Building construction



1,613,547 Jan. 4 1927. 1 J c TELFORD I BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 13, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 5% I Bali.

cairrn STATES funk BUILDING CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed January 13,1926, Serial No. 81,055; and in Great Britain seesaw 19, 1924.

This invention relates to improvements in house and other building construction of the type in which steel or other metal'plates are employed to form the walls of the building, or to form the greater part thereof.

This invention refers particularly to the arrangement ofthe flues and chimneys in such houses or buildings, the object of the invention being to provide flues and chimneys which can be supplied as standard units and built up with the house, and which are arranged in such a manner that they serve to strengthen the structure of the house and also to distribute warm air around the internal walls of the house. This construction thus removes the objection which is sometimes raised to houses constructed of metal that such houses are cold in winter.

My invention comprises an improved building of steel or other'metal construction in which hollow chimney breasts formed by steel or other.metal plates secured against the walls of the building are in communication with air spaces between inner and outer plates or sheets forming the outer shell or partition walls of the building and flues or uptakes from fire-places, stoves, and the like passing upwardly through the chimney breasts are formed of metal tubes or pipes so that the air in the chimney breasts is warmed by contact with the flues or uptakes and circulates in the hollow walls.

In a bungalow the chimney breast extends from the ground level to the ceiling level, while in a two-story building the chimneybreast may extend from the ground level to the level of the ceiling of the upper story, thus forming a box girder which materially strengthens the construction of the house.

This strengthening effect is enhanced where chimney-breasts on opposite sides of a partition or party wall are in alignment.

In one form of building construction the walls of a house or the like are formed on the outside by steel plates and on the inside by asbestos or other sheets spaced away from the plates to provide a hollow air space, and the hollow chimney breasts are preferably in communication with this air space. The air in the chimney-breasts is heated by the passage of hot gases from the fires through the metal flues and the air circulates in the hollow walls and assists in warming the whole house.

The flues may be of steel tubing suitably treated, but are preferably of cast-ironto avoid corrosion, and lead at their upper ends into cast-lron chimney pots mounted wlthin a casing of box-form composed of flanged steel plates secured to the plates forming the roof structure.

One practical form of my invention as applied to a two-story semi-detached house has been illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which p Figure 1 is a vertical section through the house, the sect-ion being taken through the living room on the ground floorand a bed room on the first floor, to show the general arrangement of the flues and chimney breasts.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section'through the wall of the living room and the chimneybreast for the stove or range which is omitted in this view.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section through the party wall between the'pair of houses above the level of the first floorshowing the arrangement of the chimney breasts in the bedrooms. I v

In the form illustrated the outer walls of the house are built up from flanged steel plates at each of which is equal in length to the vertical height of one floor of the building and adjacent plates are connected by rivets or bolts passed through their meeting flanges. 7

The inner surfaces of the walls are formed by asbestos or other sheets I) of similar dimensions secured to wooden bars or battens 0 so as to leave an air space of substantial width between the inner and outer surfaces. In the case of the party wall (Z between the two houses of a pair, asbestos or other sheeting 0 is provided on each side of the steel as shown in Figs. 2 and 8.

In the house illustrated a combination grate f of known type is provided in the living room on the ground floor and this is set upon a hearth g of concrete. or other suitable material, and is mounted within a hollow chimney-breast it formed by a flanged steel plate pressed to shape and secured by its flanges j to the party wall.

The width of the chimney-breast is considerably greater than the width of the grate so that a hot-air space 70 is formed on each side of the grate and this space may if desired be in communication with the air-space between the steel and asbestos 0f the wall,

suitable passages W being provided for this purpose, so that the warm air may circulate through the hollow walls of the house.

As shown in Fig. 2 an identical chimneybreast is provided in the next house on the opposite side of the party wall and in alignment with the first, and the two form a hollow box structure which extends to the full height of the ground floor story and adds considerably to the strength of the structure.

The uptake orflue from the grate consists of a metal, preferably cast-iron, pipe Z of suitable diameter which is in sections of convenient length with spigot joints -m and passes upwardly through the chimneybreast It and through the chimney-breast a of the bedroom on the floor above. This room is of smaller dimensions than the living room so that the flue Z is adjacent to the corner of the bedroom and the chimneybreast n is triangular in horizontal crosssection and forms one corner of the room.

This chimney-breast is of flanged steel plate provided with an aperture to receive a grate 0 of any desired type. The flange p at one side of the chimney-breast is secured as before to the steel partition of the party wall, while the other flange p abuts against and is secured to the corresponding flange of a similar chimney-breast n in the next room, the flanges being in alignment with the partition wall 9 between the rooms.

There is preferably no division between the two chimney-breasts as shown in Fig. 3, and similar chimney-breasts in the other half of the house are preferably arranged on the other side of the party wall in alignment with the first pair. The whole thus forms a box structure of great mechanical strength, which extends for the full height of the first floor.

through the said hollow attic space to terminate in suitable chimney pots.

I claim 1. A building construction of the character described comprising hollow walls in combination with hollow chimney breasts formed by flanget metal plates secured against the walls, said chimney breasts bcing in communication with the hollow intorior of the walls and heat radiating iltlC-S formed by metal pipes passing upwardly chimney breasts.

2. A building structure of the character described comprising hollow walls in combination with hollow chimney breasts formed by flanged metal plates secured to opposite sides of a wall in such alignment as to form a hollow box girder of substantial cross section, and heat radiating flues consisting of metal pipes passing upwardly through the said hollow chimney breasts.

3. A metal building construction comprising in combination hollow walls at right angles to each other, flanged plates secured across each angle between the walls to form a triangular chimney breast, means for connecting themeeting edges of each pair or" chimney-breasts so that the whole forms a rigid hollow rectangular structure, and heat radiating flues consisting of metal pipes passing upwardly through the said chimney breasts.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN CHARLES TELFORD. 

